Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!dali.cs.montana.edu!milton!hlab
From: frerichs@adsl.uwm.edu (dfRERICHS)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: Questions about BattleTech
Message-ID: <1991Apr26.070738.15151@milton.u.washington.edu>
Date: 26 Apr 91 01:07:46 GMT
References: <1991Apr25.080804.14090@milton.u.washington.edu>
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In article <1991Apr25.080804.14090@milton.u.washington.edu> crispin@csd.uwo.ca
(Crispin Cowan) writes:>
>
>The game I'm asking about is called BattleTech.  According to the moderator,
>(contrary to my impression) it is an arcade game (I had thought it was
>a building-sized getup, reminiscent of Photon).
>
>The radio article I heard specifically described fighting with other
>players instead of the machine.  Would this imply some sort of LAN
>connecting player boxes in an arcade?  Is "Joe's Pin-ball" really up
>to LAN management 1/2 :-)?
>

Being from Chicago, I have been to Battletech.  Basically, it is a 
networked set of simulators (battle robot simulators).  The user sits in
a networked control pod with multiple screens and a control panel.  
Once in, the computer starts you up and you are transported to 
the planet on which the battle is taking place.  On your screens you
see the images of the other networked player's robots as they
appear relative to you.  BTW, the graphics that represent the other
users are playbacks of canned pre-calculated images on a dynamic
background (they pre-calculate how the enemy looks from every possible
viewpoint, store it, and scale it on playback for distance).
They ease the real-time calculation requirements this way and it
doesn't detract from the effect.
The game consists, essentially, of destroying the other robots
(what else in the vid realm) and appears to be entertaining.
I haven't actually played it because the cost is prohibitive to
a limited budget ($8 for 1/2 hour average) but there is an observing
area overlooking the game room with screens showing each players
viewpoint.  Being in this area gives one a pretty good feel for the
game, but I suppose it is no substitute for sitting in a pod.

If anyone else has more input or corrections, please feel free to
add your comments.


[dfRERICHS
 University of Illinois, Urbana         Designing systems that work...
 Dept. of Computer Engineering          Consumer VR. Networked VR.
 IEEE/SigGraph                            _    _    _
 frerichs@adsl.ece.uiuc.edu             _/_\__/_\__/_\_
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